Tag: Reading

‘Sleeping Beauties’ Review: Stephen and Owen King’s Urgent Feminist Fable

‘Sleeping Beauties’ by Stephen King and Owen King. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Review: Sleeping Beauties: A Novel

By Stephen King and Owen King

The Synopsis

In the small Appalachian town of Dooling, it’s business as usual. Ree and Jeanette are cellmates in the local women’s prison—Ree is serving time for credit fraud, forgery, and drug possession, while Jeanette is in for manslaughter after stabbing her husband in the groin with a screwdriver.

Meanwhile, Dr. Clinton Norcross, the prison psychiatrist, is at home wondering what he was thinking when he got his wife Lila (the Dooling sheriff) a pool for their 10th wedding anniversary, while musing on his experiences as a mental health professional. Elsewhere, Tiffany, a junkie, lives with her cousin Truman, a meth cook, in an isolated trailer. Out of nowhere, a mysterious woman shows up and kills Truman, leaving Tiffany shocked but alive.

Soon after, a global phenomenon strikes: when women fall asleep, they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If that gauze is disturbed, they awaken as feral, violently protective forces. The authorities name the sleeping disease Aurora.

Only one woman, the mysterious Eve Black, is immune to the condition.

As fear and confusion spread, Eve becomes the focus of suspicion, fascination, and conflict:

  • The Protectors: Some believe she holds the key to saving humanity.
  • The Aggressors: Others see her as a threat that must be eliminated.
  • The Opportunists: Many exploit the chaos to wreak their own vengeance on new enemies.

As the men turn to violence in a suddenly all-male world, the women’s consciousness drifts to “Our Place,” a peaceful, matriarchal alternate world where cooperation and peace seem possible, creating a striking contrast to the chaos unfolding left behind.

Review

In Sleeping Beauties, the powerhouse duo of Stephen King and Owen King deliver a gripping, high-stakes allegory that feels both grand in scale and intimately unsettling.

The narrative heartbeat of the book relies heavily on its fractured character dynamics. At the center is Eve Black. She serves as a living Rorschach test for the town’s remaining men. To Clint Norcross, the empathetic prison psychiatrist, Eve is a patient to protect and a key to understanding the phenomenon. To others, driven by fear and toxic tribalism, she is a demon to be eradicated.

Stephen and Owen King have created a large cast of memorable characters whose strengths, flaws, and motivations drive the narrative. While its length may feel daunting at times, the richly developed characters and escalating tension keep the pages turning.

The prose is vivid and descriptive: “The liquor hadn’t taken over Terry’s mind yet, so far it was only visiting…”

The blend of supernatural horror and contemporary social issues gives the story emotional depth and relevance.

Core Themes

  • Gender Dynamics & Matriarchy: The book aggressively interrogates how society functions without the stabilizing, often invisible labor of women. “Our Place” suggests that a world governed by women inherently leans toward harmony, contrasting sharply with the immediate chaos left behind.
  • The Fragility of Civilization: With women gone, the male population rapidly devolves into primal, warring factions. The Kings masterfully expose how quickly systemic order crumbles into senseless violence when fueled by fear and toxic masculinity.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Sleeping Beauties is a provocative, urgent fable. It uses a supernatural lens to examine real-world gender divides, delivering a thrilling father-son collaboration that prompts readers to consider how fragile civilization can be when fear takes control.

Similar to King’s classics The Stand and Under the Dome, it’s an ambitious, provocative, and engaging novel that will appeal to fans of character-driven horror and readers who enjoy speculative fiction with meaningful themes.

“That was happening more and more: watchers lurking at the farthest reach of her vision. Hallucinations. How long could you stay awake before all rational thought broke down and you lost your mind compeletely?”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Have you read Sleeping Beauties? Do you think a world without women would devolve as quickly as the Kings suggest? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

About the authors

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Owen King is the author of the acclaimed novel The Curator, Double Feature, and We’re All in This Together: A Novella and Stories. He is the coauthor of Intro to Alien Invasion and the coeditor of Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories. 

Chasing Dreams vs. Reality: A Review of McFadden’s ‘The Accidental Future of Dean Harris’

‘The Accidental Future of Dean Harris’ is the inspiring new book by Derek McFadden. Photo: Paste Creative Book Tours, used with permission.

Book Review: The Accidental Future of Dean Harris by Derek McFadden

Part of Paste Creative Book Tours

Release Date: June 15, 2026. Available for pre-order.

The Story

Dean Harris is a struggling writer with cerebral palsy. His life’s dream has been to write a bestselling novel, a dream he shares with his father, Damon Harris. When his father calls him with the good news that he has finally landed a literary agent, Dean is happy for him. He really is, but his father doesn’t believe him.

When Damon’s agent, Dianne, finds out that Dean is also a writer, she offers him an unpaid internship as a second reader, a manuscript gatekeeper. He accepts the internship and spends his days reading manuscripts, some good, some not so good. Then, one day, he meets bestselling author Charles Corning.

Over the years, they develop a close working relationship and Charles becomes a mentor of sorts to Dean. He agrees to read Dean’s unpublished novel, What Lucas Learned From Life, which is about a young man dealing with life with cerebral palsy. He likes it and encourages Dean to never give up on his dreams of seeing it published.

Dean self-publishes the book, but then his biggest dream comes true: his next novel becomes a bestseller and a critical success.

Then he wakes up. His reality once again centers around unread pages and a dream that is constantly just beyond reach. When parts of his dreams start creeping into his waking world, Dean realizes that maybe the vision wasn’t simply an “accidental future”—maybe it was more like a map.

Now Dean must decide whether he should stop chasing the ghost of the man he wants to be and face the life he’s actually living: the family he’s overlooked and a relationship with his girlfriend, Claire, that’s unraveling under the weight of his ambition.

Photo: Paste Creative Book Tours

Review

Derek McFadden’s The Accidental Future of Dean Harris is a gripping, mind-bending exploration of ambition and reality. Dean Harris is stuck between being a “visionary” and a “fraud,” and it’s affecting his relationships with the people he loves.

Taking place between 2015 and 2021, the story blends reality and subconscious insight, creating a narrative that feels introspective and highly relatable. The nonlinear format adds incredible depth to the story, revealing how past choices, hidden desires, and personal blind spots shape our futures. It also contains a story within a story, with portions of What Lucas Learned From Life included to support Dean’s narrative, which is in the first person point of view.

McFadden gives readers a story that is less about literary fame and more about the ghosts we chase at the expense of our present. The prose is sharp, witty, and deeply empathetic, capturing the existential dread of the creative mind.

“Yet, on this early evening, with the sun sinking low and inviting darkness to settle over the city like a colorless comforter outside my window, life had changed.”

The characters are well-developed, especially Dean, and his struggles as a writer will resonate with would-be authors everywhere.

The Verdict

The Accidental Future of Dean Harris is a thought-provoking and poignant read for anyone who has ever looked at their life and wondered if they are waking up to the wrong reality. Beyond its exploration of artistic ambition, the novel offers a powerful look at relationships, whether they be familial or friendships. These emotional threads ground the story and give it genuine heart.

Insightful and ultimately hopeful, it’s a gentle reminder of the importance of finding meaning not in the future we imagine, but in the life unfolding right before us.

“Rejection will, for all time, stand as the most personal, most painful verdict that can be delivered in all of human experience.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the Author

Derek McFadden is an author, a poet, a podcast presenter, a radio enthusiast, an unapologetic fan of the Seattle Mariners, and a former March of Dimes ambassador. He lives with a mild version of cerebral palsy, and his eyes are not great at being eyes.

Other Books by Derek McFadden:

  • What Death Taught Terrence – His debut novel was a Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist (2021) and the Best Adult Fiction Winner at The Wishing Shelf Awards (2021). The audiobook version, read by the acclaimed BJ Harrison, was a Best Adult Audio Book Finalist at The Wishing Shelf Awards (2021).
  • The Santa Claus Agreement – His second novel, and a Wishing Shelf Awards “red ribbon” winner.
  • All Systems Snow – A collection of short stories published in 2023.
Photo: Paste Creative Book Tours

**Thank you to Stephanie Caruso, Paste Creative Book Tours, and Derek McFadden for the gifted ARC for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Photo: Paste Creative Book Tours

‘The Girl on the Beach’ Book Review: This Summer’s Ultimate Thriller

‘The Girl on the Beach’ is the new suspenseful thriller by Carol Snow. Photo: Penguin Random House

Book Review: The Girl on the Beach by Carol Snow

Release Date: June 23, 2026, available for pre-order.

Genre: Psychological Thriller / Suspense

Synopsis

On the surface, Sonia and Graham Starr are a glamorous couple: Sonia is the sleek entrepreneur behind a successful lifestyle brand and Graham is a handsome painter with an irrepressible zest for life. They had everything money could buy and the one thing it couldn’t, a precious, precocious four-year-old named Roxie. But when Roxie disappears into the Pacific Ocean on a perfect August afternoon, their world crumbles around them.

Months after the tragedy, the Starrs are divorcing, and Sonia has hired real estate agent Jan Murray to sell their expensive beach house. One Sunday afternoon, Jan waits for Colleen, Roxie’s twenty-one-year-old former nanny, to arrive at the home.

Still haunted by unanswered questions and overwhelming guilt, Colleen returns to the Starrs’ house on the “American Riviera”—the rarefied stretch of land around Santa Barbara where the mountains meet the sea—hoping the environment will trigger buried memories.

Her first night back, she gazes out at the sand and sees a child who bears a striking resemblance to Roxie. When she calls out, the child runs away. Colleen never believed that Roxie, who was deeply afraid of the surf, would run into the ocean on her own. A desperate hunt for the truth begins, forcing Colleen to face her greatest fears.

Review

The Girl on the Beach immerses readers into the devastating aftermath of a family’s worst nightmare. Set against the sun-drenched, wealthy backdrop of Santa Barbara, the story masterfully follows the unraveling of a family unit broken by grief.

A Gripping, Non-Linear Narrative

The heart of the book is Colleen’s journey. Told through her first-person perspective, the story unfolds using alternating BEFORE and AFTER chapters. These flashbacks carefully piece together the timeline surrounding Roxie’s disappearance.

Colleen is a particularly engaging protagonist whose determination and vulnerability make her incredibly easy to root for. Driven by intense guilt, she constantly blames herself for not watching Roxie, even though it was her day off. Snow handles Colleen’s struggles with anxiety, grief, and an unhelpful therapist with remarkable empathy and realism.

Atmospheric and Tense

Snow excels at creating an atmosphere of unease and paranoia, skillfully revealing secrets while forcing the reader to question who is actually telling the truth. The beautiful scenery comes alive through poetic, highly descriptive prose:

“Our feet crunch on gravel. Insects buzz. The scent of wild roses and sage hangs heavy in the air.”

This gorgeous, idyllic setting creates a tense, gripping juxtaposition against the dark, suffocating grief of the Starr family.

The Verdict

The Girl on the Beach is a riveting thriller that beautifully combines family tragedy, suspense, and emotional depth. It uses themes of grief, identity, and the fragility of memory to explore the human condition under extreme stress.

Fans of psychological suspense will appreciate the intricate plotting and emotional complexity. Best of all? The genuinely jaw-dropping finale completely resets everything you thought you knew. It is easily this year’s top summer beach read.

“The sky is white and soggy. The air has a bite. It is winter, after all; some days it even feels like it. And yet, the sea calls to me.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the Author

Carol Snow holds a BA in psychology from Brown University and an MA in teaching English from Boston College. She is the author of ten novels.

Called “an author to watch” by Booklist, recognition for Snow’s previous titles includes a Target Bookmarked Breakout Selection, Amazon Editors’ Pick: Best Books of the Month, and a Readers’ Crown Award Finalist.

**Thank you to Fauzia Burke of FSB Associates for the gifted ARC for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

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Book Spotlight: ‘Steep: A Black Neurosurgeon’s Journey’ by Craig Yorke

‘Steep’ is the new memoir by Craig Yorke. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Spotlight: Steep: A Black Neurosurgeon’s Journey by Craig Yorke

Steep traces an odyssey from a gritty Boston neighborhood to a neurosurgical practice in Middle America. It’s more about the price of success than the weight of bigotry – a story of resilience and self-discovery that will resonate with anyone who has wrestled with their past as they chased the American Dream. (PR by the Book, 2026)

The word “steep” has two meanings: the adjective that conjures a precipitous climb—or descent—but also the verb that connotes a ripening or maturing over time. Both definitions are evident in Yorke’s story, one that will resonate with anyone who’s run from their past, and anyone whose world feels too small.

Get your copy today!

Praise for Steep

“Written with the deftness of a brain surgeon and the ear of a concert violinist, Steep is the unforgettably moving story of one man’s life and times. But it is also a wise and courageous commentary on our time.”

— Cyrus Console-Soican, Ph.D., Professor of Liberal Arts, Kansas City Art Institute

About the Author

Dr. Craig Yorke was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He received a BA from Harvard College in 1970 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1974. His parental directive insisted he avenge centuries of bigotry with a life of infinite success.

After a neurosurgical residency at the University of California at San Francisco, he and his wife Mary found their way to an unlikely destination. He practiced in Topeka, Kansas, for 25 years, wrestling with his history and the armored identity it had imposed.

He’s a credible violinist, having played the Bruch G Minor concerto with the Boston Pops at age 17, and hits tennis balls with passion. Steep is his first book.

Sally Field to Star in Netflix’s ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ Adaptation

The film adaptation of ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ will premiere on Netflix on May 8. Photo: Amazon

Book to Screen: Remarkably Bright Creatures

For fans of A Man Called Ove, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a charming, witty, and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope. This heartwarming story traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus, and it is finally making its way to the silver screen.

🎬 The Netflix Adaptation

The beloved novel has been adapted into a Netflix original movie featuring a powerhouse cast and creative team:

  • Starring: Sally Field as Tova and Alfred Molina as the voice of Marcellus.
  • Director/Co-Writer: Olivia Newman.
  • Release Date: May 8, 2026.

📖 Book Overview: A Tale of Eight Arms and One Big Secret

After Tova Sullivan’s husband passed away, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Keeping busy has always been Tova’s way of coping, ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

While mopping floors and tidying up, Tova becomes acquainted with Marcellus, a curmudgeonly giant Pacific octopus. Marcellus is more observant than anyone can imagine, but he wouldn’t dream of helping his human captors, until he forms a remarkable bond with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces exactly what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. Now, he must use every trick his aging invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. It is a gentle reminder that taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

📽️ Movie Snapshot

The film captures the essence of the novel, focusing on the life-changing discovery Tova makes through the unlikely bonds formed during her quiet night shifts. (IMDb, 2026)

FeatureDetails
GenreDrama
RatingPG-13 (Thematic material, strong language, brief drug use)
Runtime1hr 51min

“Sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.”

‘Ashes of the Republic’ Book Review: A Chilling Vision of a Dystopian America

‘Ashes of the Republic’ by James Chesterton. Photo: Amazon

Related post: The Future Is Now: ‘Ashes of the Republic’ by James Chesterton

Book Review: Ashes of the Republic by James Chesterton

Ascent of Dennison Series, Book One

Release date: April 28, 2026.

The Premise: A Republic in Ruins

In the year 2046, the “blueprint” for authoritarian rule is no longer theoretical, it’s fully operational. Ashes of the Republic presents a chilling vision of a United States overtaken by Christian Nationalism. In this near-future dystopia, liberalism is a punishable offense, women’s bodies are governed by data, and AI has replaced human medical professionals.

The Catalyst (2026)

The narrative begins in the Western U.S. with Charity, a young prodigy with degrees from Oxford and Johns Hopkins. As a rising star at Dennison Robotics, Charity works closely with Iwanna Dennison, the President’s daughter and the de facto leader of the American Christian Right.

When a project meeting turns into a heated disagreement, Charity is fired. Realizing she is now a target of the burgeoning regime, she turns to her estranged, wealthy father. He helps her “vanish,” providing her with a new identity and they are only to contact each other once a year, on her birthday.

The Consequence (2046)

Twenty years later, Charity is gone, replaced by Lily Osbourne. Living a quiet, anonymous life in Colorado, Lily is dating Jeff Maslow, a former teacher who lost his job after a copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass was discovered during a routine body search.

Their fragile peace is shattered during a routine airport screening. A TSA agent informs Lily that she is pregnant, an unregistered state that is strictly controlled by the Republic. In this world:

  • All pregnancies are flagged immediately.
  • Fetuses are issued Social Security numbers at conception.
  • The state is notified of “unauthorized” biological activity.

As Lily and Jeff fight for survival, Iwanna Dennison continues her psychotic climb to the highest reaches of power.

Why This Novel Stings

James Chesterton’s writing feels less like speculative fiction and more like an inevitability unfolding in slow motion. The grounded realism makes it a stand out in modern literature.

Key Themes & Highlights:

  • Plausible Terror: The systems of control, AI-driven healthcare, reproductive tracking, and algorithmic governance, are presented as logical extensions of technology we use today.
  • The Reversal of the American Dream: In a haunting role reversal, the novel depicts people fleeing from the United States into Canada.
  • Relatable Stakes: While the political themes are heavy, the emotional base remains the relationship between Lily and Jeff, two people trying to maintain their humanity in a system designed to strip it away.

Final Verdict

Ashes of the Republic is a stark reflection of the present pushed to its logical extreme. Chesterton excels at grounding high-concept political thriller elements in vivid, descriptive prose.

“The sun’s oppressive presence in the sky had retreated to a warm and more docile position just beneath the horizon.”

Recommended for: Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, political thrillers, and speculative fiction that isn’t afraid to be provocative.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) A solid, unsettling start to the Ascent of Dennison Series.

“There was nothing to be said. Lily and Jeff held hands, staring out the window at the swarms of broken people everywhere. At night, they were frightening. In the day, they were heartbreaking.”

*Thank you to Meryl Moss Media and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Must-Read Sci-Fi Thrillers: Helen Hynson Vettori’s Trilogy is Chillingly Realistic

‘Black Swan Impact’ is the first book in the Black Swan Series by Helen Hynson Vettori. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Author Spotlight: Helen Hynson Vettori and the Black Swan Thriller Series

From the front lines of emergency response to the high-stakes world of national security, Helen Hynson Vettori has spent her career navigating crises. After serving the National Capital Region as an EMT/Paramedic, she transitioned post-9/11 into a role as a senior medical intelligence analyst for the Department of Homeland Security. (Grace Taylor PR, 2026)

Specializing in biological incident planning and pandemic preparedness, Helen’s expertise earned her Employee of the Year honors for emergency management. Following her retirement, her reflections on the global response to COVID-19 inspired her to pick up the pen and explore the concept of “black swan” events through fiction.

Book Series Spotlight: The Black Swan Thrillers

The Black Swan trilogy blends scientific realism with political tension, exploring how humanity handles the unthinkable. While part of a trilogy, each of these books is designed to be read as a standalone story.

1. Black Swan Impact

Set in the year 2113, the world has finally recovered from the scars of World War III. Scientific progress is booming, and the future looks bright, until a deadly pandemic emerges to threaten the global population.

Dr. Syia Case, Director of Epidemiology at the NIH, is called to advise President Daniel Piper and the White House Crisis Action Team. As the virus spreads, Syia realizes that the biological threat isn’t the only thing she has to fight. With questionable political maneuvers steering the country into dangerous territory, she must navigate a landscape of ignored warnings and unprepared leadership.

2. Black Swan Shock

The second installment follows Marla Case, an elite athlete who walks away from her Olympic dreams to find a new purpose. After learning the ropes from a paramedic friend, Marla joins her mother on an academic tour that takes a terrifying turn when a massive earthquake strikes.

Using her physical prowess and newfound medical knowledge, Marla becomes a lifeline for the people of St. Louis, Missouri. However, amidst the chaos of the disaster, she must face a personal tragedy that tests her resilience.

3. Black Swan Terror

The gripping conclusion to the trilogy—coming soon!

Why You Should Read It: With vivid, visceral descriptions and a narrative grounded in firsthand expertise, Vettori’s work is a thought-provoking look at the consequences of being caught unprepared.

Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss Star in Imperfect Women

Imperfect Women the series is streaming on Apple TV. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book to Screen: Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall

The transition from page to screen can be complicated, but when the source material is as haunting as Araminta Hall’s Imperfect Women, the results are bound to be electric. Now adapted into an eight-episode limited series on Apple TV+, this psychological thriller is a must-watch for fans of complex female leads and dark, domestic secrets.

Book Overview

When Nancy Hennessy is murdered, she leaves behind a shattered life and a trail of questions. From the outside, Nancy had it all: she was gorgeous, wealthy, and cherished by her husband and daughter. But she also took the identity of a secret lover to her grave.

As the investigation into her death flounders, her two best friends, Eleanor and Mary, find themselves drowning in grief and the realization that they might not have known Nancy, or each other, at all.

  • The Hook: A gripping exploration of impossible expectations and the lethal nature of long-held secrets.
  • The Structure: The story unfolds through the perspectives of three fascinating women, forcing the reader to untangle their complex friendship to answer the ultimate question: Who killed Nancy?
  • The Vibe: Wickedly sharp and suspenseful, drawing comparisons to the likes of Patricia Highsmith and Paula Hawkins.

Imperfect Women explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that alter our lives irrevocably. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

From Page to Screen: The Series

The Apple TV+ adaptation brings the “wickedly sharp” insights of the novel to life in a high-stakes limited series. The show dives deep into the decades-long friendship at the heart of the crime, peeling back the layers of a murder investigation that exposes the dark underbelly of a “perfect” life.

The Star-Studded Cast

The series boasts an incredible lineup of heavy hitters:

ActorCharacter
Kerry WashingtonEleanor
Elisabeth MossMary
Kate MaraNancy
Joel KinnamanRobert
Corey StollHoward (Mary’s husband)
Photo: IMDb

About the Author

Araminta Hall is no stranger to the dark side of fiction. She holds an MA in creative writing and authorship from the University of Sussex and currently teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton.

Hall is also the acclaimed author of Our Kind of Cruelty, which was named a best book of 2018 by CrimeReads and Real Simple. She lives in Brighton with her husband and three children.

Are you planning to read the book first, or will you be diving straight into the Apple TV+ series?

The Future Is Now: ‘Ashes of the Republic’ by James Chesterton

‘Ashes of the Republic’ is the forthcoming new speculative thriller by James Chesterton. Photo: Amazon

New Book Spotlight: Ashes of the Republic

A Dark Speculative Thriller by James Chesterton

In James Chesterton’s dark and thrilling futuristic satire, Ashes of the Republic, the year is 2046 and Christian Nationalism has fully consolidated power. Evidence of liberalism is subject to punishment, women’s bodies are governed by data, medical professionals have been replaced with AI, and the blueprint for authoritarian rule is no longer theoretical, it’s fully operational. It will be released on April 28 and is available for pre-order. (Meryl Moss Media, 2026)

The Plot: A Fragile Invisibility Shattered

At the center of the story is Lily Osbourne, a gifted technologist who once helped build the very systems that now govern daily life. After crossing her employer, Dennison Robotics CEO Iwanna Dennison, Lily is cast out of power and retreats into quiet anonymity.

That fragile invisibility shatters during a routine airport screening when a TSA agent informs her that she is pregnant, a state strictly controlled by the government.

In the Republic, all unregistered pregnancies are flagged. The fetus is issued a Social Security number immediately. The state is notified, and the body is no longer one’s own.

Lily and her boyfriend, Jeff Maslow, a former professor once arrested for the “crime” of reading Walt Whitman, must find a way to survive. Meanwhile, Iwanna Dennison claws her way to the highest reaches of power, driven by a psychotic and relentless ambition.

Where Fiction Meets Reality

Deeply rooted in current events, Ashes of the Republic draws from real-world debates surrounding:

  • Reproductive surveillance and the erosion of privacy.
  • The fusion of religion and state power.
  • The role of AI and data in modern governance.

Policies and ideas that felt speculative during the novel’s early drafts have since emerged as real-world court rulings, legislative proposals, and political platforms. This isn’t distant dystopia; it is a “near-now” reality where the mechanisms of control already exist, waiting only for the removal of institutional limits.

Key Themes of the Republic

  • Theocratic Surveillance: The United States has transitioned into a state governed by religious authority and high-tech monitoring.
  • Performative Democracy: Elections still happen, but they no longer carry the weight of choice.
  • Criminalized Dissent: Opposing the status quo is a high-stakes legal risk.
  • Bureaucratized Freedom: Personal liberty is slowly being filed away by administrative systems and unchallenged executive power.

This isn’t your parents’ sci-fi. The tone is controlled, unsentimental, and wickedly funny, a fast-paced thrill ride full of twists and turns.

Ashes of the Republic is the first installment in the Ascent of Dennison series. These gripping political thrillers ask a terrifying question: What happens when legal, cultural, and moral guardrails are deliberately dismantled by leaders who believe themselves divinely justified and technologically unaccountable?

About the Author: James Chesterton

James Chesterton is the author of Ashes of the Republic and Holding Patterns, a financial crime thriller inspired by his 30 years in the banking industry.

A graduate of Hunter College, he began his career teaching high school English before earning an MBA from the University of Connecticut and transitioning into corporate banking. Chesterton’s work confronts the real-world consequences of power exercised at the highest levels.

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‘Night Night Fawn’ is a Bold and Unfiltered Novel About Family and Reckoning

‘Night Night Fawn’ is the new novel by Jordy Rosenberg. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Review: Night Night Fawn by Jordy Rosenberg

Overview

From the acclaimed author of Confessions of the Fox comes a novel that feels like an unauthorized memoir dictated in a fever dream. Set in a cluttered, rent-controlled Manhattan apartment, Barbara Rosenberg is terminally ill, high on opioids, and utterly unrepentant. Night Night Fawn will be released on Tuesday March 3, 2026 and available for pre-order. (Broadside PR, 2026)

As she writes the story of her life, she spares no one, least of all herself. Her narrative skips between memories of a smutty late husband, a career with a disreputable plastic surgeon, and her “glory days” of jazzercise, all while she grapples with unhinged thoughts on gender, Karl Marx, and Zionism.

At the heart of her delirium are two haunting disappointments:

  • An estranged trans son.
  • A long-lost best friend whose betrayal still lingers.

Review: A Reckoning in Real-Time

Written in a sharp first-person POV, Night Night Fawn forces readers to confront the jagged edges of intergenerational conflict. Barbara’s voice pivots effortlessly between gutter humor and piercing self-awareness. Rosenberg provides an unfiltered portrait of a mother who cannot love cleanly, apologize easily, or die quietly. Themes explored include identity, colonialism, sexuality, and gender.

The prose is vivid and descriptive, turning even the mundane into something cinematic:

“In my daughter’s bedroom the traffic along Second Avenue cast stripes of light through the blinds; they floated across the ceiling like empty frames of film reel ticking off after a show.”

The narrative structure is nonlinear, mirroring Barbara’s descent into illness. It’s a bold exploration of the stories we tell ourselves when time is running out. While the novel is provocative and often uncomfortable, it remains a fiercely intelligent reminder of our shared, messy humanity.

Recommended for: Fans of family life fiction and unconventional memoirs who appreciate raw, “unfiltered” storytelling.

Key Quotes

“As I started down the ramp of sleep, I could feel my mind begin to unravel, like a piece of knitting being pulled out to correct a slipped stitch.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the Author

Jordy Rosenberg is the author of Confessions of the Fox, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection and finalist for numerous prestigious awards, including the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Lambda Literary Award.

A recipient of support from the MacDowell and Lannan Foundations, Rosenberg currently serves as a professor in the Department of English and MFA Faculty at UMass-Amherst.

*Thank you to Broadspire PR/NetGalley for the gifted ARC for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

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